Southern Co-Operative Ltd has been fined £333,334 for health and safety breaches after a young woman suffered horrific fractures to her leg.

The charges were brought by Horsham District Council following an investigation into the accident at the Co- Op store in Guildford Road, Horsham.

In February 2016 the young staff member attempted to manoeuvre a defective roll cage which toppled over falling onto her legs causing severe multiple fractures. The roll cage trolley was loaded with milk cartons and the weight of the load caused painful and traumatic injury.

The investigation that followed by Environmental Health Officers found the incident was entirely preventable. The roll cage had been identified as broken two days before the accident. The procedures that would have stopped the incident were in place but were not known or not followed, and the staff had conflicting views on their health and safety responsibilities.

In a hearing at Brighton Crown Court, District Judge Szagun accepted a guilty plea to breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The Co-Op was fined £500,000 plus costs at Brighton Crown Court but the Judge reduced the penalty to £333,334, reflecting an early guilty plea and mitigating factors.

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